What Do Skinks Eat?

Skinks are a particular kind of lizard that has shorter legs and longer bodies than other lizards. They live in the wild or they can be kept in captivity. Skinks are typical reptiles in that they have a unique tendency if they were ever attacked by predators – they are able to detach their tail so that they can get away easily. The amazing part is that their tail is able to grow back. They are able to live in warmer climates with a touch of humidity. If they have rocks or branches to climb around them, then that will be the ideal, enjoyable environment.

The blue-tongued skink is unique to Australia and yes, it does have a blue-colored tongue. The largest member of the skink family is the Solomon Island skink, which grows up to 32 inches long.

So, what do skinks eat?

Because skinks have small mouths and they are also lacking in teeth, they are limited on what they can consume. Larger insects and animals may be off of the menu, but the skinks still have a large variety of foods for them to choose from.

Meat and proteins

A skinks diet usually consists of 30% to 40% of meat and proteins. Skinks in the wild have been known to hunt for their prey that usually consists of spiders, crickets, moths, grasshoppers, worms, flies, grubs, earwigs, and their favorite, the cockroach. When they are hunting for their prey, they will usually wait for them, motionless, and then when the prey is in reach, the skink will pounce on it, put it in its mouth and shake it violently to death before eating it. Hunting burns a lot of calories and so the skinks eat these high protein diets to get the calories back. If a skink is in captivity and they eat these kind of foods, then it will be easy for them to fatten up. So if you have a pet skink, the best meat and proteins for you to feed them with are chopped beef and chicken, a limited amount of bugs and insects, and cooked eggs.

Green leaf veggies and fruits

A skink may consume 60% to 70% of green leaf veggies and fruits in their diet. Some of the green leaf veggies consist of kale and collard greens. Some of the fruits that the skinks enjoy are mangos, grapes, berries, and melons.

They eat plants

The skink is also a fan of some plants such as dandelion leaves and flowers, grass, and some other popular plants.

What’s NOT on a skink’s diet?

Even though the skink has a wide variety of foods that they can eat in the wild and also in captivity, there are some things that the skink can’t eat. The skink can’t eat foods like avocados, spinach, lettuce, mushrooms and any citrus fruits.

In the wild, a skink’s instinct is to survive

They will do whatever is necessary to make sure that they get the proper meal that they need. They have great hunting instincts and are able to find a large variety of other foods. For skinks that are in captivity, it is important that you make sure that they have a balanced diet. You also need to make sure that you don’t feed them the wrong food.